We report the synthesis and characterization of the first example of an organic dye, PP1, for p-type dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) bearing a phosphonic acid anchoring group. PP1 is structurally related to the benchmarking dye, P1, which possesses a carboxylic acid anchor. The solution absorption spectra of PP1 and P1 are similar (PP1 has λmax = 478 nm and εmax = 62,800 dm3 mol−1 cm−1), as are the solid-state absorption spectra of the dyes adsorbed on FTO/NiO electrodes. p-Type DSCs with NiO as semiconductor and sensitized with P1 or PP1 perform comparably. For PP1, short-circuit current densities (JSC) and open-circuit voltages (VOC) for five DSCs lie between 1.11 and 1.45 mA cm−2, and 119 and 143 mV, respectively, compared to ranges of 1.55–1.80 mA cm−2 and 117–130 mV for P1. Photoconversion efficiencies with PP1 are in the range 0.054–0.069%, compared to 0.065–0.079% for P1. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, open-circuit photovoltage decay and intensity-modulated photocurrent spectroscopy have been used to compare DSCs with P1 and PP1 in detail.